Chusetts



(No Model.) J. J. MORGAN & A. DAWES.

. w I REED FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

N0. 417,069. Pa tente'ci-Dec. 10; 1889 UJITHESSEL Inventurs '12; all whom, it may concern: I

UNITED States;

PATENT- thr ce.

mm J. MORGAN, on unset-IAN, AND ALFRED. Dawns-F CHELSEA, MASSA- CIIUSET'IS; SAII) DA'WES ASSIQNOR TO SAID MORGAN.

inzeo FOR MUSICAL msfraumsnrs.

SPECIFICATION'forming part of Letters mam. No. 41 7,oe, dated December 10, 1889. p f

. Applicltion and August 4,1888. mint. zsiss'z. on model.)

Be it known that we, JOHN J. MORGAN and -ALFRED DAWES, respectively of Needham,

in the county of Norfolk,-and of Chelsea, in

the county of Suffolk, both in the State .of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Reeds for Musical Instruments, of which the following isa speeification. v This invention relates toireed for musical instruments inwhich. .the. and

separate pieces riveted together.

The invention has for its object to improve reeds of this class with respect to strength, durability, and tone;- and it consists in the improvements which 'we will now proceed to describe and claim. V

In the accompanying drawings. forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a top view of ablank suitable for our improved .reed. l ig. 2'represcnts an edge view of the "same. Figs. 3 and 4 represent, respectively,

a top and an edge view showing the tongue struck up from the blank. Figs. 5 and 6 rep--.

resent, respectively, a section on line an: and on line 3 y of Fig. Fig. '7 represents a top view of the blank, showing the sides and free end of the tongue trimmed otf. Fig.8 represents a section on line 5 z of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 represents a top view of the completed reed, showing the outersurface of the tongue milled off. Fign'lO represents asection on line acw of Fig. 9.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in.all .the figures.

In carrying out our invention we make a flat blank,' as shown in Figs. and 2, from tongue metal-that is to say, a composition ,which has the hardness required for the tongue of a reed-and, placing this blank between a suitable die-and force, we pierce out therefrom a tongueu, in doing which we sever the tongue from the plate along the edges and outer'end of the tongue and force its inner surface'out until it is substantially flush and parallel with the outer surface of the plate, the inner side of the tongue being a part. of the smooth inner side of the blank, and therefore perfectly flat and true. This is a feature of great importance, because any unevenness of the under sutfaee of the reed-will affect the tone, the perfection ofwhich depends largely on the evenness of'its inner side. Inthus piercing out the tongue'the base or root b, which eonneets't-he tongue to the plate, is compressed between thesurfaces of the force .and die, so that said root-or base, originally of. hard or tongue metal, as already stated,

additionally hardened and made so firm and unyielding that it isnot liable to be lifted IQLIIMQQBRQSFQIMQ ba h mflninulationslo tongue are made in one piece instead of in which the tongue is subjectedduring the tun ing operation. p

The next opcrationis to planeoff the edges and free the end of the tongue, as shown in Figs] and 8, thus making the tongue free to vibrate in the slot formed by the pierein g out of. the' tongue. By thus planing the edges of the tongue weremove the roughness ofsaid edges incidental to the operation of piercing out the tongue and make said edges perfectly smooth. The tongue is then milled ed in the usual manner, except that said milling is done lower, as heretofore. In the manufacture of the smaller sizes of reeds the top surface of the tongue is milled off from its point back to its root, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10.. In the smaller sizes of '80 reeds the plate is made so-thin that no reduction of'the thickness of the walls of the said .slot is necessary. In fact, we find that in'the smaller reeds the tongues speak or respond to the action of theair more quickly when the plate is not milled'olf on its under surface. It will be observed that the under side of the tongue retains the smooth rolled surface of the plate or blank from which the reed was made. The smoothnessof this surface greatly b improvesthe quality of .the tone of the reed as compared with that ofa reed whose tongue is reduced or thinned-by millingaway'its under surface. \Ve iind that by planing or -trimming away the edges of the tongue, so as to make said edges perfectly smooth, the quality of the tone is still further improved. The thickness of the blank of tongue metal which we employ varies with the size of the reeds, the larger sizes being made of thicker r00 plates than the smaller. By using plates or blanks of hard or .tongue metal, as described,

upon the upper surface instead of upon the" 75 v we are enabled to-bring the tongues closer to the valves that admit air to the reeds than heretofore, and the plate, being of hard or tongue metal, does not require a marginal lip .or flange and can be made of the minimum thickness.

\Ve are aware that reeds have been before made with the tongue andplate in one piece, as shown in Patent No. 2,139 to A. ll. llammond; but in the reed shown in that patent the t'ongue'is reduced by milling off its inner side, which is necessarily left irregular and uneven by the milling-tool, and the rootor base of the 'form'shown, so that to make the reed oper-- ative it s tongue must. be bentout at right angles, or. nearly so, to the plate and hardened "-by hammering. This bending crystallizes and weakens the root'ofthe tongue, which has not thehardness of ours, so that it ,is more difficult to keep the tongue in place than in our reed. f i

' ,:It will be seen thats by making the entire plate and reed ofhard or tongue metal and forming the tongue as described, leaving its' inner surface level and compacting and additionally-hardeningithe root of the tongue, we produce fa reed which. is much stronger, of better tone, and more durable and reliable than any heretofore produced. I

w'c claim 1. A reed composed of a plate and a tongue integral therefiritlnboth composed of a hard face milled, its inner or under surface retaining rheorigi'nal su rfeceo'f the plate, as setforth.

, 2. A reed composed of a plate and tongue integral therewith, both composed of hard or tongue metal, the tongue being pierced out from the plate andhaving its outer surface milled and its edges planed, the inner surface of the tongue retaining the original surface of the plate, as set forth.

3. A reed composed of a plate and a tongue integral therewith, both composed of tongue metal, and a compressed or hardened root or base uniting the plate to the tongue, as set forth.

4. A reed, composed of a plate and a tongue integral therewith, both composed of hard or tongue metal, the tongue having a level inner surface flush with the outer surface of the plate and an outer surface reduced by milling from the point of the tongue, or thereabout, to the root or base, said root or base having the full thickness of the plate and being additionally hardened by compression, as set forth.

In testimonywhereof we have signed our names to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 31st day-of July, A. D. 1888.

' JOHN J. MORGAN.

ALFRED DAWES.

Witnesses: v

(I. F. BROWN, ARTHUR W. CRossLEY. 

